eBook reader news from CES shows developing market

There was a flurry of eBook news coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. (You can read a good round-up of the announcements here.) The sheer number tells you that companies believe that there has to be a market out there, and as we move into 2010, we are seeing a natural technological march forward as the devices enter another development cycle.

It's unclear how the space will shake out moving forward, but the market as it stands certainly cannot continue to sustain such a fragmented marketplace. Sooner or later, we are going to see companies drop out and others consolidate. For now, let's take a look at some of the trends from these product announcements:

Screens get thinner and more flexible

The screen size is all over the place, but it's clear that some readers are getting thinner and more flexible as with the Skiff Reader. I believe at some point in the future, the screens could bend and fold and we will be able to size the screen to suit our computing needs, but for now, perhaps this flexibility is a step in that direction.

Color is coming

One huge limitation of the current crop of readers is they are mostly black and white, which is fine for most novels, but for a host of other reading--including newspapers, magazines, graphic novels, and text books--it's a huge limitation. Color will be a big step forward for using readers to distribute a variety of content beyond books.

Reader software as a platform

The Blio software Sharon Fisher wrote about last week is a new approach that separates the software from the device. Up until now, the device manufacturer developed software to run the reader, which makes perfect sense. Blio provides a software platform that anyone can use to read ebooks, whether or not they own a reader. It's full color and it's supposed to simulate the experience of reading a traditional book. You can download the software for free and try it. I wonder if others could also take this approach and develop competing products. It's something we will be watching.

Developing independent screen technology

It's not only independent reader software we are seeing, but also screen technology such as the new Qualcomm mirasol technology. There have been complaints aplenty about the eInk technolgy which has a noticeable delay when turning pages. I noticed this recently when I had the opportunity to stop at a Sony Reader kiosk and try the device in person. If a competing vendor can come up with something better, it will only help sell more Readers.

Perhaps we'll see more niches develop as companies try to develop one device for those who read for pleasure, another for students and researchers and a third for people to read newspapers and magazines. Or perhaps the developing Tablet market will circumvent a need for a separate reader device. It's very much a moving target right now and we will likely see new technologies and approaches in the coming year as the market continues to develop and take shape. - Ron

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